TONY Abbott has ruled out chasing HECS debts owed by the dead, despite his Treasurer Joe Hockey appearing to back the idea less than an hour earlier.

“This government is not going to change the existing rules, and the existing rules in respect of university debt ... is that they cease on decease,” the Prime Minister told ABC radio this morning.

Mr Hockey and Mr Abbott were both speaking after a newspaper report in which Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne discussed the concept — branded a “death tax” by Labor.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten seized on the confusion, saying the PM had rushed out to “smack down” Mr Hockey and Mr Pyne within half an hour.

“Coalition thought bubbles don’t even last 30 minutes anymore with this government and its Budget, which is in disarray and sinking fast,” he said, adding the proposal would be the “height of meanness”.

The prospect of collecting outstanding higher education debts from the dead had been flagged as student fees become an increasingly hot topic.

Mr Pyne was quoted by Fairfax newspapers discussing the idea overnight. He said he had no “ideological opposition” to the concept, adding it would need to be handled sensitively to “ensure that families of people who died young owing a HECS debt would not be penalised.’’

“Australians would be right to be confused and concerned that this government has an education minister who can’t run his portfolio, a treasurer who doesn’t know how the HECS system works and a prime minister who clearly has no idea how much his budget is hurting Australians.”

Student fees — and their impact on the bottom line — are in the spotlight following last week’s budget, with Labor leading a push against the Abbott Government’s plans to deregulate university fees and hike the interest rate on HECS debts.

Mr Pyne has already flagged a tax treaty with the UK to collect debts from the tens of thousands of Aussie expats with degrees who earn big dollars in London but are dodging their ­student loan ­repayments.